Friday 20 October 2017

Wear a hanbok - Learn about cultural identity

'We have so much in common.'

First of all, let's start with the similarities between the Hungarian and Korean culture that I can name off the top of my head. 

We both like hot, spicy food. Well, I don't personally but I think the claim still stands. Hungarians also put the family name first, just like people in Korea - a little unknown fact I love to brag about in class. (Apparently some parts of Northern India and many other nationalities, ethnic groups do the same. Not that special after all.) 

I kind of struggled to find more obvious ones other than the similar percentage of Protestants in both countries - a random data which doesn't correlate to the young pastors that miraculously chose to come to Hungary for their visiting studies and happen to preach in the church my parents go to. 


But with every class at KCCUK, every street interview/social experiment video or TV show I watch, I feel myself growing fonder of the culture. Their something intangible about it, but the Korean spirit is somehow similar, and somehow I can recognise my own soul in theirs. 

So let's embark on another journey to discover what traditional clothing, fashion, folk culture means in Hungary and South Korea, to see if I can add another few fun facts to my (hopefully growing) collection.


'When it meant something'

When listening to the presentation of Dr Jungtaek Lee at on the K-Pop Academy last week, the main question I had lingering in my mind was about cultural appropriation. 

Cultural appropriation is the adoption of certain elements from another culture without the consent of people who belong to that culture.


With constant debate going on about appropriation in music, or in the US' case with native cultures (and let's put aside the Gwen Stefani and Katy Perry examples) is better to be careful before we decide to capitalise on hanbok's popularity and use it for our own gain. Of course, we are not in the public eye (yet) but to understand what certain elements mean and where they come from.


But we don't have an easy job to do, especially when it comes to fashion. Recent fashion trends (at least in the Western part of the globe) seem to bring (back?) elements traditional cultures from all over the globe. 

Folk patterns became very popular recently, and you either have to avoid shopping entirely or simply have a completely different style not to see it. Flowers and embroidery pop up on every shirt without a cleavage you can get your hands on in Topshop - you know the ones that look pretty cool on the hanger - and horrendous in the fitting room. (Previously I had that theory that it's the lighting that makes you look rather unfavourable a.k.a haggard in the mirror - but I'm starting to accept the fact that it's my age and the simple reason that the clothes might not fit me.) But going back to our original topic, without any further details on people analysing Coachella outfits we can say it with absolute confidence - traditional motives are in, including elements borrowed from traditional clothing.


Attitude towards tradition

Going to Calvinist high school in Hungary meant various things. We had an awful sailor blouse to wear on celebrations, prayers to miss out on the morning because you arrived late - and also going to school which took pride in nurturing youngsters who understand the values of the national culture.

That also led to the fact that on our senior ball we only had folk dances to choose from for our obligatory performance. This might seem a bit harsh but there was literally no other choice when it comes to the style. (Rumour has it that a surprise salsa performance a few years earlier caused such an outrage at the teacher's board, that they even gave responsibility to one of the head teachers to oversee the preparation for the following years to avoid such scandalous disobedience in the future.)


So you probably guessed, no chance for K-pop dance like this:





(Okay, I know that these guys are students at SOPA (prestigious performance art high school in Seoul), but still. This was so not happening at my high school. Looking back I still cringe how awkward we were. And let's face it, the video is brilliant.)

But as we started the preparation everybody slowly started to embrace the experience. Hungarian folk dance is kinda cool - very manly, that's for sure. With straight backs, occasional singing and rhapsodic choreography - supported by the playful shouting choir of the girl participants, who grab every chance to call out the guys with humorous chants filled with sexual innuendos.






(I was deliberately trying to match the age group. Totally different, but you get the message.)


The folk culture, literature, therefore, shows a romantic side to both cultures, but both express it differently. Of course depending on social class, more was allowed to the woman when it comes expressing their opinion - that seems to be universal thread throughout history.


The 'hippie chic' is connected to the concept of freedom, self-expression, boho, wanderlust and all the #instaworthy #buzzwords (that I use in every second post of mine) by major retailers evoking commercialised version of Byron and co.'s signature longing for the ancient, the exotic, the unknown in 18th century Western romantic literatureSeeing narratives returning on the visual identity of your Instagram feed just shows that there is really nothing new under the sun. The traces are always there if you have the eyes to see it.)

(Note: if you would like to read a few of the decade's notable pieces, I can only encourage you to do so. If I can give you any advice, then put The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe at the end of your reading list. It's easy to take this the title literally, as I did my personal Calvary suffering through the obligatory book in high school. The only thing I longed for, was it to end, completely missing the point of the main character's development.)


So if you were to try incorporating different styles into your own, how can you that without accidentally offending someone? In our globalised world, cultural appropriation became an increasingly hot topic with prestigious magazines like The Atlantic even creating a checklist, to help you get out of this maze, instead of simply stating it's wrong (ThoughtCo.) or trying to come to its defence (New Statesman).

Let's what these elements can mean in South Korea and in Hungary to get a step closer to a possible solution through its everyday implications - how young people feel about it.



#HanbokOnTheStreet - Living legacy


Obviously, big retailer campaigns are not completely off with their messaging, even if they are a bit tacky sometimes. Clothing is heavily used to express and form cultural, social and gender identity, and its relevance is stronger than ever.


The easiest way to write this chapter would be simply type in word by word what the brilliant In Oh shares with the listeners in The Korea in The World podcast - but even if it's an opinion coming from a scholar, our duty is to synthesise information and do our best in taking all aspect into our findings.

Damn you, Professor Polos and your brilliant lectures on critical thinking.



When do people wear traditional clothing or clothing that features traditional elements? And why do they wear it? Let's look at the obvious reasons collected from friends of mine: 

1. It's considered cool, edgy, hip (whichever you prefer)

2. Supporting local economy
3. Special meaning attached to etc (political stand, social status, personal memory)
4. National holidays, festive events, sports events




Well apparently in recent years, hanbok made an appearance quite often outside of the predictable, 'wedding-national holiday-trying to appear as an eligible bachelor in front of the parents' - cycle. While the ongoing debate about if modernising a hanbok is right or not, is very present - the business moves on with new wave designers weaving in elements of the clothing items in their lines. 


(Fashion Statement? You got me on board.)

What's important to understand that while the clothing still mainly functions and is seen as a costume, its meaning changes in a way that more and more possibilities open up to incorporate elements of it smoothly into even streetwear. (Yes that's not me saying this, it's Vogue, so feel free to take it seriously.)






Traditional clothing wasn't used as support a specific ideology in the past that heavily as it was in Hungary.

After trying to dig in deeper this a key element that I found missing looking around my hometown Budapest. There are characteristics you give to people who wear something that even resembles elements of traditional clothing, probably
 a literature student, conservative background - you could even guess which uni or school she/he went. Or there's always the safe bet of being a part of dance ensemble - and definitely not hip-hop one.


In Oh offers an interesting way of preventing the aforementioned problem of cultural appropriation. She suggests attracting western designers 'instead being passive and just letting people take it and use it for own purposes'. It’s always tricky to turn inspiration into tangible form, but her ideas do make a lot of sense. 

There is another thing I identified after reading multiple articles - and that's the approach to traditional clothing, it's usage and meaning. The hanbok had its journey to become what it is today. Since everybody wore it, they didn’t call it Hanbok, untill the late 19th and 20th century as an effect of foreign influence. Even the word 'hanbok' was born in reaction to Western clothing.

Hungarian nobles used it as an element differentiate from the likes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire/Kingdom (depending on the century’s failed revolution). The noble wear was completely different and members of the class only turned to ethnic clothing once they needed a tool to identify what it means to be Hungarian (even in the early 18th century most of the elite used German or Latin during a political debate or even to write a love letter). In later periods it became an even stronger symbol of independence, political stand (usually far-right and nationalistic, especially between the World Wars - so essentially traditional clothing was always politically charged. And that's something we still couldn't get rid of till this day.

Takeaways for building


I try my best to be impartial, analytical and only use emotional elements to envoke curiosity or to entertain but in this case, I do would like to form an opinion.

Less political connotations, consciously used when promoting of Korean culture and which fact (and this really makes a difference in our case) is widely accepted by the general public. The recent awakening and in Korea's case a continuing incorporation is ultimately a good thing in my eyes. I see it as a part of a healthy national identity, an integral part of knowing who you are and where you came from. Based on the fashion everchanging nature one day it might become only a source for more creative output - but till then, we better figure out its place in our identity.

 Attitude will always be key. What's your take on traditional clothing?











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